Lise Woensdregt

This research aims to address the challenge of achieving economic stability for financially vulnerable queer men engaged in sex work within Nairobi’s risk-prone ‘hustle economies.’ Using community-led research and action (CLRA), an innovative and co-creative anthropological method, it explores how queer men can create pathways to financial independence and stability, particularly through queer entrepreneurship. It aims to make an innovative contribution to existing “hustling” scholarship and advance it by exploring its meanings within the Kenyan queer context and its intersections with navigating precarious situations while envisioning their social and economic futures. As engagement and community leadership are seen as foundational elements of this project, the study also sheds light on opportunities and challenges related to academic collaborations with marginalized communities in the Global South, identifying gaps in current engaged anthropological theories and promoting inclusive and transformative research practices. The research outcomes will extend beyond traditional academic publications, presenting findings in disciplinary and non-disciplinary formats, including comics, podcasts, videos, and written chapters, based on the community’s interests and needs. The research findings will be communicated with financially vulnerable queer men and other relevant stakeholders in Kenya and elsewhere, as well as academics, while exploring online mediums for wider engagement.